This invention relates generally to porous fiber reinforced thermoplastic polymer sheets, and more particularly to porous fiber reinforced thermoplastic polymer sheets that include natural fibers.
Porous fiber reinforced thermoplastic sheets have been described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,978,489 and 4,670,331 and are used in numerous and varied applications in the product manufacturing industry because of the ease of molding the fiber reinforced thermoplastic sheets into articles. Known techniques, for example, thermo-stamping, compression molding, and thermoforming have been used to successfully form articles from fiber reinforced thermoplastic sheets.
Porous fiber reinforced thermoplastic sheets are sometimes formed into decorative interior panels for use in the interior of automobiles, mass transit vehicles, and buildings including commercial buildings and private buildings. Incineration of these decorative panels upon the end of their useful life is made impractical because of the presence of glass fibrous reinforcements.